Movies. Long extinct cartoon series. Commercials. Even fork and spoon sexual affairs. Is nothing sacred on Robot Chicken? Apparently webcomics.
Rather than waste time wondering why, I offer these suggestions:
7. Penny Arcade
The Why
The series follows Gabe and Tycho through their complaints about video games, the video game industry, video gamers, and anything else even remotely video game-related. Sudden, random death is common, but never permanent. (They killed Tycho! You bastards!) This is a good webcomic to follow if you're only somewhat familiar with the video game industry, since references tend to be only to the more popular games. Ah, and the elitist in me comes out....
The Obvious
Gabe and Tycho are standing around somewhere. Tycho is mildly disappointed that Little Big Planet was taken off the shelves. Gabe goes off on a clever-yet-angry rant on Little Big Planet, just a little bit of the Koran being in it, and the ridiculous idea of taking it off the shelves. Tycho shrugs it off, and Gabe kills him.
Extra Credit
Gabe breaks a whiskey bottle in half and uses it to kill Tycho. This becomes a Road House transition with Patrick Swayze jumping into the fight. Swayze destroys Gabe, then dances off to "I Had the Time of My Life". Double bonus points if they can fit Jennifer Grey's nose in frame.
6. Something Positive
The Why
This series follows the ongoing saga around a group of friends in Boston, occasionally jumping around the country to visit the relatives. Still plenty of gamer jokes, but also some goth jokes and the usual "let's laugh at the 20-somethings" humor. There's also a running fear of alligators. This webcomic is more accessible than some, but is also a little more day-to-day. It's popular and all, but.....eh.
The Obvious
The Something Positive cast stand together and introduce themselves. Before the rest of the scene can continue, a Canadian trap door alligator explodes through the floor and eats the cast.
Extra Credit
The alligator slinks off into an Adam Sandler à la Waterboy scene with some Bayou bumpkins. The alligator curls up like the family dog.
5. xkcd
The Why
With its simple stick figure drawings, this comic finds a way to make mathematical or academic jokes funny. Really, really funny. Also, Randall Munroe, the comic's creator, is terrified of raptors. Everyone should read this comic. Socially awkward? Trouble with women? Extremely knowledable in higher level math? This is the place for you.
The Obvious
We see a ComicCon crowd at a Q&A with Randall. The crowd has the usual: a Trekkie, a Storm Trooper, a hot goth chick in fishnets and short shorts. They keep shouting out guesses as to what xkcd stands for (xenon krypton carbon dubnium? xtreme keystrokes cancel downloads?) while Randall insists over and over that it stands for nothing. Scene ends with Randall wishing for death.
Extra Credit
Close up to a door handle being tested. Suddenly, a raptor bursts into the room and kills everyone in its path. Randall smiles and screams, "Come to me!" as the raptor tears him apart. Double bonus points if the scene moves outside to Jurassic Park, a huge grassy field with dinosaurs eating from the trees. Then, in the corner, we see Robert Loggia with golf clubs and wearing checkered pants. He yells, "Robert Loggia is playing through!"
4. Dinosaur Comics
The Why
Talk about simple yet brilliant. This comic uses the same frames with the same dinosaurs every day. Only their dialogue changes. Just the idea of little clay dinosaurs, posed just right, standing completely still while their lines are being read gives me the giggles. This comic can be really hit-or-miss. But when it hits, it's an Ike Turner.
The Obvious
T-Rex gives Utahraptor a hard time about eating the xkcd crowd while Dromiceiomimus tries to defend him. It's visually funny to hear a stream of words coming from unmoving, little clay statues, but the dialog doesn't really go anywhere before the chicken changes the channel.
Extra Credit
A mouse cursor arrow begins to appear and hover over the dinosaurs while they talk. Little boxes keep appearing over the dinosaur's bodies. T-Rex begins shouting about jerks searching for Easter eggs. Double bonus points if you got that.
3. Ctrl+Alt+Del
The Why
If ever there was a platform for froth-at-the-mouth rants on video games, it is here. References here tend to be deeper, a little more "in the know." If you read this webcomic and don't laugh, you probably have a tan and have escaped the seductive world of the game console. If you read this webcomic and do laugh, love of God, man, you probably should get out more.
The Obvious
Ethan stands in a dark robe and begins to deliver a sermon on the evils of Braid. Zeke, Lucas, and Lilah sit in the pews, listening intently. We pull back and see Ethan stands in the center of a circle with a huge PS3 controller drawn in blood on the ground. Then, for no reason at all, Ethan is shot through the chest with a giant arrow.
Extra Credit
We pull back even further and see this scene is in the middle of Stonehenge. The invading armies from Kingdom of Heaven and Braveheart are there. They ask each other what they're doing there. Double points if the Spartans from 300 show up just because they heard there was a fight.
2. Dresden Codak
The Why
If ever a comic deserved to be ridiculed in public, it is Dresden Codak. Remember that girl you dated in college? The one who tried to sound smart by mentioning Freud and Plato? Yeah, after she dumped you, she went on to inspire Dresden Codak. And she's still a bitch. She's probably still hot, though. Figures.
The Obvious
Kimiko and Tiny Carl Jung are floating through the cosmos, almost like the opening to The Twilight Zone. Kimiko drops lots of names and post-modern theories. She admits that her work is hollow and someday, someone will figure out that she's just not that smart. I mean, she drug that Hob thing out as long as she could. Tiny Carl Jung probably uses a planet as a pillow, settles down to sleep, then passes gas.
Extra Credit
Tiny Carl Jung uses the phrase, "A lesson is learned, but the damage is irreversible." Then both are run over by Serenity trying to outrun some Reavers. Double bonus points if somehow River gets out and unleashes the fury on the Dresden duo.
1. 8-Bit Theater
The Why
This comic is great for all of us who remember the old days, the NES days. With its blocky and blotchy graphics, half the fun here is how hard it is to see anything. It also appeals to anyone who's ever played an RPG, especially you table-toppers. Can you imagine a little 8-bit Black Mage made of clay? Just little cubes of color stacked together. Brilliant.
The Obvious
The Light Warriors are standing around, probably in a cave of some sort. As they prepare for battle, it becomes clear that they can't tell each other apart, either. Red Mage asks Thief to prepare something, only to find that it's actually Fighter. Fighter punches Black Mage thinking he's Red Mage. It becomes a mess of little colored cubes tossing around.
Extra Credit
The little colored cubes continue to mix together until we're looking at the cover of A Million Little Pieces. We pull back and see Oprah sitting on a black throne like the Emperor in Return of the Jedi. She screams at her interns about the Frey fiasco. Double bonus points if in the background, on a television screen, Oprah is watching Birth of a Nation.
